


like the darkness is the light

by theriveroflight



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Fist Fights, LBSC Sprint Fic Challenge, Magic, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28109550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theriveroflight/pseuds/theriveroflight
Summary: Marinette aches for something different.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Kagami Tsurugi
Comments: 15
Kudos: 23
Collections: LBSCSprintFicChallenge





	like the darkness is the light

**Author's Note:**

> This is for [bloody-writes](https://bloody-writes.tumblr.com), whose ao3 I couldn't find in the search function that exists when you type into gifts.
> 
> They gave me three prompts: fantasy AU, vipermouse, and "fuck destiny, we made our own future" and I got 2/3 I hope? I locked in on "fantasy AU" because I love them, and decided to go for urban fantasy instead of medieval fantasy because I've written several bits of medieval fantasy already.
> 
> Warnings: sparring (they fight for fun)
> 
> Title from Disturbia by Rihanna.

Something whispers to her,  _ Don’t you dream of something other than this existence? Don’t you know that there are bigger things? _

Marinette has never thought to dream. Marinette has never  _ thought,  _ if she’s being honest. She’s embedded in the daily existence of her life, and it’s always just been…mundane. But there is a whisper, a call. A siren song beckoning her towards  _ adventure,  _ towards some greater purpose. It whispers to her quite a bit, its sound especially loud tonight.

But that’s ridiculous.

There is nothing out there waiting for her, nothing besides the impending start of university and her part-time job at the bakery, next shift tomorrow morning.

There’s nothing else there. There’s nothing else.

Marinette wraps her fists in bandages, puts on some light sweatpants, a sports bra, and a tight fitting tank top. She puts on her leather jacket to top it off — saved for special occasions when she goes out, because it’ll protect her in a fight. She braids her hair quickly. It’ll stay out of her face, and isn’t as recognizable to people that know Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Because a  _ fight  _ is exactly what she’s looking for.

Jumping down from her balcony, she lands in the pile of scrap fabric she keeps there specifically for sneaking out.

Not that she really needs to “sneak,” being over eighteen, but she  _ does  _ live in her parents’ home, and some habits are difficult to break.

_ Ouroboros.  _ Underneath the bar was the fight ring. She was one of the few that knew about it.

“Hey, MDC.” The bouncer smiles at her. “Been a good while since we last saw you here.”

“Been busy.” She shrugs. “Good to go down?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thanks.” She makes her way through the crowd by the bar, ignoring some of the skeevier men who look at her outfit and see  _ prey. _

But she is the predator, not the prey.

***

“Good to see you, milady.” Chat Noir offers her a toothy smile when she makes her way down to the ring. “We’ve got a newcomer tonight. Calls himself Viperion.”

She tilts her head to the side, looking at the ring. “He's fighting now?”

“Yep.”

Marinette sizes up the guy fighting.  _ Hot,  _ for one, but also simultaneously more and less skilled than she expects.

“There’s something off about him that I can’t figure out,” Chat continues.

“Really?” she asks.

“I haven’t gotten the chance to hop in the ring with him. I’m sure everything will be revealed there.” His expression grows more feral.

She ruffles his hair. “Well, I’m looking forward to taking on some others too.”

“Who’s next?” the announcer asks.

“I’ll go.” Marinette rolls up her sleeves. She’ll probably have to ditch the jacket altogether later — the heat from all the bodies packed together is already starting to get to her, she doesn’t know how Chat does it — but for now at least she wants all the protection she’ll get. She hops over the barrier into the ring.

Ryuuko is let in through the door. Someone familiar. Good.

“Just get here?” Ryuuko asks.

“Oh, this’ll be a good warmup.”

“3, 2, 1 — let the match begin!”

The two of them spar for a few minutes, both aggressive in their attacks and their bite. Neither of them fights  _ dirty  _ — they don’t allow biting or hair pulling or anything, but it is  _ fighting.  _ Marinette’s prepared to get hit. Besides, Ryuuko fights the cleanest of everyone she knows in the club.

She delivers a kick to Ryuuko’s stomach that causes her to hit the wall and collapse down.

“Ladybug is the winner!”

She notices the newbie eying her up and vaults over the barrier again to talk to him. “What do you want?”

“Just to get to know you better.” They both spot Chat Noir talking to the announcer.

“I talked to Chat earlier,” Marinette casually says. “He wanted to get to fight you, know a little more.”

“Alright, Ladybug.” Viperion smiles. “I’ll see you after, then.” She can’t see all that well what he does, but it looks like he traces a symbol onto his arm before blowing a kiss at her.

She feels her cheeks heat up. One cute guy comes and talks to her, and she’s  _ blushing?  _ Even her short-lived crush on Chat Noir couldn’t come close to this.

The fight begins, and both Viperion and Chat go after each other  _ hard.  _ She’d love to get in the ring with either of them — she enjoys fighting  _ alongside  _ Chat more than fighting against, but tonight is a single’s night, so doubles won’t happen until a couple days from now.

The fight is declared in Chat’s favor, but it takes longer than the average opponent does against him. There are people that flit in and out of the circle, but she suspects that Viperion will stick around. And that makes him  _ interesting. _

She spots them shaking hands when they come out of the ring.

“You both looked great out there.” She smiles.

“Thanks,” Chat says. “You going back in anytime soon?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. If someone wants me or if someone looks interesting, I’ll go, but I just came here to blow off steam and hang out with friends of mine.”

“Speaking of friends…” Viperion says. “I wanted to get to know you a little better.”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “Why not?”

What does she have to lose?

“You know,” he whispers to her, “you’re the only one here that doesn’t use anything.”

“What do you mean ‘use anything?’” she snaps. “Like drugs? Because if anyone here  _ isn’t  _ clean…”

He puts up his hands. “I meant magic.”

“That doesn’t exist.” Marinette crosses her arms. “I’ve been around longer than you. You’d think that I would know if people were using something to  _ cheat.” _

He shrugs. “That’s why it’s so miraculous that you’ve stuck around. I hear a lot from the others.”

“What are they doing?”

“It’s more…magical armor.” Luka shrugs. “I can show you, so you don’t have to keep wearing that jacket. I can tell you’re starting to get hot.”

She sheds her jacket and quickly ties it around her waist. “Yeah, it gets pretty warm down here. Basement, and there’s a lot of people.”

“Come with me,” he says, and she does, for whatever reason.

***

She slides down the railing of a staircase, slowing down her slide occasionally for control more than anything else.

They get to the bottom. “There was an entrance to the catacombs here?”

“The catacombs are the most magical part of Paris.”

She considers that. It makes sense — the restrictions on its exploration, the history behind it, the atmosphere between them right now.

“How did I never know about this?”

“They wanted to keep you out of this. Because you have a better life. Chat used it to escape. So did Ryuuko. My mother is a witch, so I’ve inherited it from her. And the moment you get in, you can’t get out.”

She takes a deep breath. “I’ve always had the feeling that I was being left out of something. I might be a regular, but I need recovery time, so I don’t come every day. I assumed that was why I felt left out. But there’s…more to it, yeah? I took up the name Ladybug at first, thinking I’d be less…but that isn’t what it’s about. Just makes me  _ feel  _ less left out.”

“You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. You don’t have to go do this if you want to do this.”

She squares her shoulders. “I will. This is…worth living more than anything else. Finding the secrets in Paris has always been a dream, and there were some other things I did, but this is where I feel really  _ alive.” _

“Living for the thrill, huh?” Viperion comments. 

“I suppose. Because I’ve always been told what I should become. But, screw destiny, yeah? I choose my own fate. And you should too.”

He looks to the side. “But you want to learn, don’t you?”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “But it’s not a necessity. If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to.”

“You’re interesting to me. So I want you to learn. You don’t deserve to be left out. They wanted to protect you. But I wanted to meet you to see for sure.”

She nods. “I get it, I guess, even if they are wrong.”

There’s something electric between them. Something brewing.

“I…” Viperion backs away from her. “My name is Luka.”

“Marinette.”

He nods. “Let’s go.” They walk down the catacomb.

If she listens, if she concentrates, she can feel the thrum of something mystical, something she’s never sensed before.

It’s magical. It’s new. It’s exciting.

Marinette can’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> if YOU want me to continue this I absolutely can. Urban fantasy is super fun.
> 
> Follow me elsewhere:  
> Tumblr / alto-tenure (main) or beunforgotten (writing)
> 
> And be sure to check out all of the other LBSC fics via the collection!


End file.
